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Washers That Don’t Wash and Dryers That Don’t Dry

“What a compelling lead sentence, Jon! I can’t wait to see how this cliffhanger ends!” Don’t worry, I’ll get to the point soon.

Since our old appliances were bargain basement, no-frills models, we thought we’d treat ourselves to something a little higher-end. The cheapest new units were double what we paid a dozen years ago and they had fewer features. The really expensive units looked nice, but behind the bells and whistles they felt plastic and cheap.

The middle-aged salesman shocked me with his honesty. “These new models have some nice features,” he said, “but they probably won’t get your clothes as clean as your old basic washer.” He told me that customers complained all the time, but there was nothing he could do. Government regulators insisted on “high-efficiency” washers and dryers; manufacturers (and salesmen like him) had to comply.

From washing machines to microwaves to refrigerators, government regulations are making consumer goods far more expensive while reducing their effectiveness and longevity.

The Department of Energy claims that their new appliance standards save consumers money through reduced environmental costs and energy use. But a recent study by the Mercatus Center confirms shows that you and I don’t see that extra money in our wallets.

As the infographic shows (click to expand), the environmental “savings” are often exceeded by the costs they impose on consumers. And when the U.S. government calculates the environmental benefits, they include estimated benefits to everyone on earth — not just the American consumers who pay the higher price.

You see, the government thinks we’re all stupid. Or, in their more polite terms, “irrational.”

Regulators believe that consumers make irrational choices when purchasing appliances because they often choose to forgo lower energy bills in the future to pay a low purchase price for an appliance upfront. By forcing consumers to buy higher-end appliances they wouldn’t otherwise buy, regulators believe that they are conferring a benefit by protecting consumers from their own irrational choices.Justifying regulations based on the premise that consumers are irrational is a dangerous precedent. It sets up government agencies to regulate based not just on market failure but also on personal failure.

If I had my way, I would buy, say a $300 washer that would last me another 12 years. According to my betters, this is crazy talk. Instead, government wants me to buy a $900 washer that doesn’t work as well and will die after six years. That is the rational decision — to a Beltway bureaucrat at least.

In a free country, I could purchase the appliance I want with the features I want at whatever price the salesman and I agreed upon. As long as Washington insiders consider freedom “irrational,” citizens like you and I need to watch them like hawks and hold them accountable.

I’m an avowed skeptic on anthropogenic climate change. Sure, humans might be responsible for some negligible shift in global temperatures. But these feeble contributions pale in comparison to those caused by the sun (e.g., changes in solar radiation) and earth (e.g., volcanic activity, weather patterns). I also believe that the climate is supposed to vary over time; this is to be expected, not feared.

We’ve been here before. A storm bears down on the media centers of the east coast. Reporters don silly parkas, galosh into the tempest and offer apocalyptic sermons about climate change. “Repent! The End is Nigh!”Because who would expect the northeast to get snow in February — it’s unheard of!When I mock this predictable alarmism, Twitter lefties are quick to attack my blasphemy. “Y u hate sceince?! stoopid rethuglican!!1!” says an engaging fellow with an egg avatar and no followers. Yes, your piercing logic has swayed my scientific understanding, @m1tts4tard.

Laura Bledsoe wasn't that interested in politics of any kind, least of all conservative politics. The back-to-nature farmer would be considered a bit of a hippie to many traditional Republicans. But Laura's foray into community-supported agriculture has turned her into a Tea Party hero, highlighting a growing alliance between limited-government activists and small organic farmers.

Last week, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman approved a reroute of the oft-disputed Keystone XL pipeline. Previously, the pipeline was slated to cross not only the Nebraska Sandhills but the Ogallala aquifer as well, two areas that had environmentalist groups ready for war. The resultant pressure caused Gov. Heineman to withdraw his support for the pipeline as planned, and President Obama denied the required Presidential Permit in January 2012.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but we're still a nation desperately in need of jobs and revenue, right?A new study commissioned by supporters of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline says Nebraska could reap close to $2 billion in economic benefits if the project were built.

Natural gas is a clean, abundant, domestic natural resource, so it only makes sense that Americans should be turning to this as an alternative to oil and gasoline. Although natural gas vehicles are being manufactured, they are not catching on like other alternative fuels such as electric. Could this be because the government is once again playing favorites against domestic resources?

To friends of freedom, it seems obvious that the government should not be choosing favorites. On the contrary, the role of government should be limited to ensuring that the playing field is level, and industries are not subjected to different rules based on government’s understanding and support of what they do. Take, for example, the way in which an oil company is treated when birds are killed on their watch and when the same happens, to a much greater degree, due to wind turbines.

Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of senators asked President Obama to consider issuing a permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline. These nine Democrat senators and nine Republicans asked Obama to approve the pipeline to help create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.